Koalas Take 4th at Indoor Championships

The Columbia College Koalas competed in the 2020 AAC Indoor Track & Field Championship on February 20th & 21st at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC. The Koalas finished in 4th place with 100.33 points, just behind 3rd place Union with 101.5 points, while Brenau took 2nd with 134.66 points, and Milligan took the women's crown with 144 points.

 Over the 2 days of competition, 17 Koalas recorded 27 new personal best performances, along with 1 conference record, and 3 national qualifying times. The Columbia College conference roster included 28 athletes that qualified for the meet, the most ever in program history.

 Freshman Victoria Heiser-Whatley was recognized as the AAC Female Freshman of the Year for her 1st place performance in the 3000m racewalk. Her twin sister Jessica Heiser-Whatley was just behind in 2nd place, while sophomore Shelby Winn took 3rd. This is first time that the Koalas have swept the podium in an event in program history. Sophomore Hannah Mishkoff set a new personal best in the 3000m racewalk (19:40.96) to finish 4th, while junior Brittany Robbins finished 7th.

 The Koala Throwers earned big points in the 2 throwing events. Sophomore Aleah Bromell won the shot put event with a new personal best and school record of 12.54 meters. Aleah also finished 3rd in the weight throw with a personal best and school record toss of 14.68 meters. Freshman Zaida Carson finished in 2nd place in the shot put with a personal best of 11.96 meters. Sophomore Alondrea Reid made the final round of shot put to finish in 9th place, and then set a new personal record in the weight throw with a toss of 13.73 meters, good for 5th place. 

 Teammates Kristen Banks, Timesha McClelland, and Morgan Cameron-Decker, didn't factor into the scoring, but all recorded new personal bests in the shot put. Junior Morgan Brown threw a new personal best of 11.78 meters in the weight throw to finish in 9th place. Junior Morgan Cameron-Decker threw a new personal best of 12.42 meters to finish in 8th place in the weight throw.

 The relays were very busy over the 2 days. The Distance Medley Relay team of Valeria Bogdanova, Fredrika Timmons, Esther Ekundayo, and Makayla Hollifield took 2nd place and crushed the school record by 37 seconds with a time of 13:20.14. The 4x800 meter relay team which featured Grace Wright, Ayanah Howard, Hannah Mishkoff, and Makayla Hollifield, finished in 5th place with a time of 11:16.53. To end the meet, the 4x400 meter relay team of Courtney Lambert, Esther Ekundayo, Grace Wright, and Fredrika Timmons, ran 4:27.55 to finish in 6th place.

 In the middle distance events, freshman Makayla Hollifield set new personal bests in both the 1000 meter run and the mile. She clocked a 3:17.28 in the 1000 meters for 9th place and 5:45.99 in the mile for 10th place. Freshman Esther Ekundayo recorded 3 new personal bests. Esther ran 1:45.00 in the 600 meters for 7th place, 2:32.31 in the 800 meters for 7th place, and 3:17.63 in the 1000 meters for 10th place. Freshman Valeria Bogdanova also set 3 new personal bests. Valeria ran 1:02.96 in the 400 meters for 9th place, 1:43.28 in the 600 meters for 4th place, and 2:27.50 in the 800 meters for 6th place.

 In the jumps, sophomore Heather Woolard finished 7th in the long jump with a leap of 4.98 meters, and 8th in the triple jump with a mark of 10.54 meters. Senior Aleah Haltiwanger finished in 10th in the triple jump with a mark of 10.42 meters. Aleah would later set a new personal best in the pole vault clearing 2.52 meters for 6th place. Freshman Grace Wright would also set a personal best in the pole vault clearing 2.37 meters for 8th place.

 In the sprinting events, freshman Kianna Ryan made the final round of the 60 meter dash in a personal best time of 8.11 seconds and finished 9th. Kianna would also set a personal best in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.25 seconds also good for 9th place. Junior Sabree Walker finished 4th in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.94 seconds. Junior Fredrika Timmons set new personal bests in the 200 meters and the 400 meters. Fredrika ran 27.28 seconds in the 200 meters for 10th place, and 1:02.42 in the 400 meters for 7th place.

 The Koalas will conclude the 2020 Indoor Track & Field season at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in Brookings, SD, on March 5-7. Representing Columbia College will be Victoria Heiser-Whatley, Jessica Heiser-Whatley, and Shelby Winn, in the 3000 meter racewalk.